Change
by artFULLYoutuvit
Summary: The knowledge crashed over her like a wave, swift and powerful and dangerous. Day 2 of Zutara Week 2010.


Disclaimer: once again, it's not mine.

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**Change**

_"I have changed!"_

Katara jerked up from her bed, suddenly awake. She took in the room warily, reacquainting herself with her surroundings. Yes, she was in fact in her room in the vacation house of the Fire Nation Royal family on Ember Island. No, she was not fighting for her life and Aang's in the crystal caverns under Ba Sing Se. Katara exhaled slowly, trying to calm her racing heart that was trying to beat itself out of her chest. _Zuko's good, _she reminded herself fervently, _you've forgiven him. He helped you find your mother's killer. He's trying so hard._

Against her will the images kept flashing before her eyes, the memories dragging her back into their undertow: the timber of his voice when he'd confessed he'd lost his mother, the look on his face when he thought about his scar, the strange amber color of his irises as she'd stood in front of him, his cheek warm under her hand, lips chapped and rough…his arms covered in fierce flame as he attacked her. Katara still wasn't sure why that betrayal had stung so much. He had been an enemy only hours before, hadn't he? She shouldn't have felt more than rage that he'd manipulated her, right? _I shouldn't have felt like my heart was getting torn up. _But then again, she thought, he hadn't manipulated her. He'd been honest with her in those caverns, as she'd been honest with him. He'd felt a connection to her too, she was sure.

Katara got out of bed and slid open the door of her room silently. She padded barefoot down the hall until she reached the room where Zuko slept. She cracked the door open and poked her head in. He was sleeping on his side, his bare back to her, and Katara noticed how broad it was, and well muscled. Yet the banished prince seemed smaller, somehow, than he had in the past. Maybe he'd lost weight in his travels through the Earth Kingdom? His hair was much longer too, brushing his neck where it met his shoulders. _He looks so much like a man, _she thought, much more so than her brother. And how old was he anyway? He was probably at least two years her senior, older than Sokka probably. Zuko certainly felt like a man, too. When she'd thrown her arms around him after she'd found Yon Rha she'd felt his hard chest pressed against her own, and his strong hands at her back. He was so much bigger than her, she was sure his hands could have reached all the way around her and then some, his large frame cocooning her gently.

_Wait, why am I even thinking about this? _Katara shook her head, trying to clear her head. Zuko had been occupying her thoughts more than she liked over these past weeks. In fact, she'd been taking more notice of men in general. Her monthly cycle had started when the gang had been staying on a Fire Nation ship, and ever since then she'd been dealing with strange stirrings every month, and a heightened awareness of the male species. It was almost as if her body had woken up, and it was trying to tell her she was approaching the age where men would begin to court her, so she had better straighten up and take notice. And it seemed her body wanted her to take notice of Zuko, in particular. She found herself attuned to him: his presence, his words, and his smell. She liked his smell a lot, which confused her. She couldn't stand Sokka's stinky, sweaty tunics, yet Zuko's scent seeped into her and made her belly swoop in a strange, yet not exactly uncomfortable way.

Katara desperately wished she had someone she could talk to about all of these weird feelings. She had considered talking to Suki, but then there was a chance that she might share this information with Sokka, and then Sokka would _kill _Zuko. And, she reasoned, they really couldn't afford to find Aang a new firebending teacher.

Zuko suddenly gave a soft snore, and Katara realized that she was still standing with her head in his doorway, and he could wake up and become aware of her presence at any moment. Yet she found it difficult to abandon her vigil. _Why _couldn't she, though? _Why _did her body seem to be pointing flashing arrows in Zuko's direction? _Why _had she felt pain in her heart when he'd sided with his sister? Katara felt like the answer was glaringly obvious and dangling above her head, if only she would look up and see it. These feelings were familiar, she knew, almost like what she had felt around Jet, but more amplified, somehow…

_ Oh…_

_** Ohhh…**_

The knowledge crashed over her like a wave, swift and powerful and dangerous. _I love him. I'm in love with __**Zuko. **_Katara closed her eyes with a small groan and knocked her head against the wall with a thump_. Why do you always have to go for the bad boy, Katara, _she berated herself, _why can't you ever go for a sweet guy, like Haru, or Aang? Blech, _she gagged. Aang was like her kid brother, or rather, like her kid. She was too busy repeatedly thumping her head against the wall to notice her newfound love interest had rolled over and opened his eyes.

"Would you like to come in?" he asked.

Katara's eyes shot open. His eyes were like little flashes of fire in the dark, gazing into hers, trying to bewitch her already muddled brain. "Zuko! Yes! Umm, I mean _**No!**_ uhh, goodnight, Zuko!" And with that, she shut the door and made haste back to her room.

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Zuko chuckled softly. He had been awake since she'd opened his door, but he had decided to investigate when he heard the sound of thumping. What had she been doing? She'd looked deliciously frazzled with the faint light of the moon making her skin look especially dark and her white under wrappings glow in contrast. He would have trouble returning to a dreamless sleep now, he thought. He rolled over again and closed his eyes.

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Katara had quickly gotten back into her own bed, but stared at the ceiling, thoroughly awake with her newfound revelation. She supposed it made sense in a way. She'd always been emotional when it came to Zuko. She'd passionately hated him, passionately fought with him; and wasn't there a fine line between hate and love? Katara sighed, what on earth was she going to do now? She didn't think he'd given any indication of potential interest in her, other than a strong desire to earn her forgiveness. He _had _tied her to a tree that one time, whispered in her ear in attempted persuasion. Katara blushed furiously. _Oh I'm never going to be able to think about that the same way again. _But no, he'd been after Aang at that point, she doubted he meant anything by it. And now he probably thought she was crazy, she thought, standing there hitting her head in the middle of the night outside his bedroom. She groaned again and rolled over. How could this happen? When had she drifted over that fine line and tipped the scales of her emotions in the other direction. _When did my feelings change? _She slowly drifted off with a final thought:

_When did __**I **__change?_

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A/N: Hello again, it's Day 2 of Zutara Week and I'm having a lot of fun! I feel a lot better about this one shot (probably because it's from a girl's perspective). Be on the look out for Day 3: Pain

Remember to check out all the awesome submissions on deviantart!

REVIEW PLEASE!


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